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Jazz Legend Adopts Allen & Heath's MixWizard
Brian Auger, jazz pianist, bandleader, session man, Hammond B3 innovator and a key player in the rise of jazz/rock fusion, is touring with a pair of Allen & Heath MixWizard mixing consoles. The desks - one based in the U.S. and one in Europe - provide onstage pre-mixing and monitor processing for Auger's multiple keyboard set-up.
Auger began his career in the jazz clubs in England before gaining wider public attention playing with the Yardbirds, Long John Baldry and Rod Stewart. In 1968, Brian Auger & The Trinity, with Julie Driscoll on vocals, had a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic with a cover of Bob Dylan's ‘This Wheel's on Fire’.
"These mixers are the best investment I've made in a long time; they're fantastic! They've done quite a few miles on the road and I couldn't be more pleased with them," says Auger. "I don't need any DI boxes, I just plug the keyboards straight into the WZ and use the main outputs to feed the PA system."
Whether Auger is touring North America or Europe, the MixWizards are available to pre-mix his Hammond B3 organ and a Korg SG Pro X piano, as well as a rack-mount Korg X5DR module.
The consoles also allow the keyboard player to add reverb to his monitors as a performance aid. "In bigger halls, I use some reverb on the keyboards," he explains. "I'm using an old Lexicon LXP-1 reverb to give the keyboards a bit of a lift. However, that's not necessarily what the audience want to hear, so we just send them the straight signal from one of the buses."
Fans of Auger and his current band, the Oblivion Express, will soon be able to get a backstage glimpse of the MixWizards. "We just shot a live DVD," Auger reports. "There is also a section running through the band's equipment because so many people ask me what gear I'm using."
Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express toured extensively throughout Europe earlier this year, playing venues such as the Blue Note in Milan and a four-night stint at Joe Zawinul's club in Vienna, and they have just completed a 10-day tour of America's West Coast, up to Vancouver. They will embark on their next European tour in November with dates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, and possibly Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
"It's been crazy this year!," comments Auger. "Plus, we are currently mixing a new album, scheduled for release later in the year, and a live album that we recorded at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame."
In between shows with his own band, Auger will also be appearing in Los Angeles with guitarist Larry Coryell's band in October. "So the MixWizard will be going to the Hollywood Bowl," confirms Auger.
3rd October 2005
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